SNOW LOVERS travelled from far and wide to take on the slopes at Darley Park.

Derby was covered in about four inches of the white stuff yesterday morning – and football fans were disappointed when the Rams' clash with Nottingham Forest fell victim to the weather.

But families flocked to Darley Park to enjoy the first snow of winter.

Paul Kettlewell, 38, and son Tom, 10, took to the slopes on their snow boogies, a state-of-the-art sledge with a seat and a rest to put your feet on.

Paul, of Belper Road, said: "We got them a couple of years ago. They were a great buy. They go so much faster than your normal sledge. I don't know what does it but you seem to fly."

Friends Ruben Holmes, 41, Darren Buttrill, 43, and Steve Millitt, 42, travelled from Hilton to take their children to Darley Park.

Lana Buttrill, 12, Katie Millitt, 9, and Jess Holmes, 10, made one big sledge out of lots of smaller sledges and tackled the slopes together.

Katie said: "The snow is so much fun. We always come to the park in the summer and it's amazing to slide down in the snow."

Jess said: "Travelling down the massive hill in the snow is epic. I wish it was like it all the time."

Dan Millitt, 13, created a ramp with the snow to create a jump.

He said: "I love the feel of the snow and travelling down it really fast on the sledge. Everyone is loving it."

Colleen, 54, and Elizabeth Brown, of Derby, were visiting the park with their dog, Harvey, a springer spaniel.

Elizabeth, 19, said: "He loves it. He keeps chasing after children on their sledges and likes to try to catch snowballs.

"It's nice when the snow comes and we can all enjoy it. But I want it to have gone by the time I'm back at work!"

The RAC said it had experienced a 50% rise in call-outs in Derbyshire compared with a normal Saturday.

Patrol ambassador Kevin Andrews said: "The treacherous conditions have clearly caused problems for many people as the dangerous cocktail of heavy snow and freezing temperatures took hold.

"We would advise people to only travel if it's necessary and keep a close eye on local traffic and weather updates."

Police said there had been a number of minor accidents caused by icy conditions. Yesterday they included a car that slid into a lamppost in Bembridge Drive, Alvaston.

No-one was seriously hurt in any of the accidents.

Councillor Chris Poulter, cabinet member for neighbourhoods at Derby City Council, said the authority did "absolutely everything possible" to grit key routes.

He said: "We have more than enough grit. We have a winter programme in place that identifies all the major routes and they have been gritted repeatedly.

"If there are particular issues we will tackle those."

The bad weather meant East Midlands Airport was shut for eight hours on Saturday evening.

Russell Craig, from the airport, said: "It started snowing mid-afternoon.

"We knew it was coming so we put down an anti-icer on the concrete that stops snow forming.

"But that only lasts three hours and so when the snow kept coming we had to suspend operations.

"Effectively, we were closed from 4.30pm through to about 12.30am."

Meanwhile, East Midlands bus operator Trent Barton kept its passengers updated via live feeds on Facebook and Twitter.

At the height of the disruption, at 8.30pm on Saturday, the company's Derby to Chesterfield service was not operating. Nor was the Matlock bus.

Services that did run had to miss a number of stops where the roads were too dangerous to access, such as Sandringham Drive and Sancroft Road in Spondon, and Woodlands Top in Allestree.

Delays were also reported in Mickleover and Littleover, where roads were "very slippy" around housing estates.

The Ilkeston Flyer was delayed by poor road conditions and an accident, while the Rainbow 4 service could not operate around the estate at Sandiacre and so went via the main Derby Road.

Train passengers were not as badly affected.

Corinne O'Loughlin, from East Midlands Trains, said there had been no delays or cancellations caused by the adverse weather.

She said Network Rail had run "ghost trains" through the night to stop lines freezing and the snow from settling. She said: "The trains run a de-icer along the tracks that clear the ice and snow, so everything was fine."

In Oakwood, councillors had given out a limited supply of "snow packs", containing shovels and grit.

Ward councillor Frank Harwood said those who managed to get hold of one of the packs were not just using them to clear their own driveways.

"I have walked around Oakwood and found many people using them not just for themselves but helping out neighbours," he said.

There were scenes of confusion and frustration at Heathrow Airport as passengers struggled to make plans after half of yesterday's flights were cancelled. Teams of staff were on hand to try to help travellers make new flight arrangements and find hotels but the situation was described as "unbelievable".

Up to 16cm of snow fell across Britain, with forecasters warning the snow would linger in many areas as temperatures remained low.

PICTURES: Enjoy galleries of snow images here.